Hi healthy11, and thanks for your response, it could certainly be something worth considering.

I had a call from the school recently to say they have finished assessing our son's literacy and numeracy skills, and he is presently 4 years ahead of his age requirement. That was a large surprise, even to me, as I knew he was ahead but had no idea just how much. This, I am told, puts our son in the "Gifted and Talented" category. So from here, he will be assessed by the relevant party to gain an understanding of his level of iq. There will then be a program put into place to cater to his academic needs. He still has his tendancy to daydream, although I don't believe this affected his testing, His teachers aren't too concerned with his social skills, they tell me he appears to be on par with his fellow classmates. However, I think a far more thorough look at things will hopefully answer any questions or concerns we have.

juleswt, the book you suggested "Dreamers, Discoverers & Dynamos: How to Help the Child Who Is Bright, Bored and Having Problems in School" sounds like a worthy read. Did you find this book in your local bookstore or did you order it online?

I'd love to hear how the rest of you are going with your children. There has been a lot of great advice and ideas put forward in this forum and it's always good to hear how others are faring.

Rainbowpony, we obviously don't know your son as well as you do. He sounds like a very nice boy who might have ADHD inattentive, but I'm just a mom who has participated in parent support groups for many years; I'm not a psychologist. People mistakenly assume that all kids with ADHD are hyperactive, but that is NOT the case for the Inattentive type. You can read more at www.help4adhd.org
I do know that when one member of a family has a diagnosed mental health condition, the chances are increased that other kids may have issues. The fact that your son's teacher and you have to give him frequent reminders to refocus means that it is significant. Why don't you mention your concerns to your son's doctor?
Kids can be gifted and have ADHD and/or LD's, and they're known as "2e" or "twice exceptional." My son is that way. I've assembled a lot of resources at community.greatschools.net/groups/16042

I have found this topic to be very interesting. We too, have a six year old son in Grade 1 who tends to "daydream", is easily sidetracked and often "forgets" what it is he is supposed to be doing. Ie. Putting pyjamas on, getting his shoes, etc. At home and within the classroom he needs to be reminded 4 or 5 times what it is he is supposed to be doing. He is extremely bright, he has the reading level of a Grade 3 student, he also does well at maths and writing and spelling. All are well above the average for his Grade requirement. He is quiet, well mannered and has a mild temperament. He appears to me to be a tad behind his peers socially, perhaps, although he seems to enjoy the regular things kids his age do. Ie. Lego, Ben 10, computer games, etc. Social wise though, I can't be too sure without speaking in more detail with his teacher.

I'm wondering whether or not to be concerned about it all. Especially as we have a nine year old son with Autism. Not that i am thinking our six year old has that as well, but I do wonder if perhaps I am missing the signs of another underlying condition. But then maybe I am being overly anxious after the frustration we went through early on with having our Autistic son diagnosed. I thought to myself "I should have noticed this" and "How could I have missed that?" etc etc. I do not want to make those same mistakes again.

Coming on here though, has made me think that perhaps it is just him!! Just a part of his beautiful nature. He is a wonderful and loving little boy : )

What do you guys think?

It's been great to hear all of your stories about your own experiences, and even better to know we are not alone with our daydreaming darlings!!

I have had this problem with my daughter. She is one to daydream and dawdle. She always seems to be on her own time, rather than the world around her. Going into 3rd grade, her habits became worse. She had several failing grades on her first progress report. With FCAT starting in 3rd grade, I knew that she has to buckle down. I came up with a simple card that I call "FOCUS FIVES". I staple one in her planner daily. I created them to be small like a business card. Along the top is the numbers 1-5 for "points". If the teacher has to remind her to focus, or to get on task, she will mark out one "point" each time. Her teacher has been wonderful with helping me out with this! I keep track of how many "points" she has earned at the end of the week. She gets a reward at the end of the week, and the prize depends on how many "points" she earned. Like if she earns 20-25 points, she gets a trip to Dairy Queen that weekend, or something equivilent. 15-19 points she gets a trip to the dollar tree to pick out 1 toy, you get the idea. There is also a "4week" goal, which is if she earns all 25 points every week for 4 weeks in a row, for a 100 point total, she will get her choice of movie at the theater, with popcorn, and candy.
Yes, it does cost me a couple dollars a week, but her focusing had dramatically improved. To me, it has been worth it. She has made A-B Honor roll on her first and second nine weeks report card. She still has bad days, but this gives her a clear cut reward system, that she has total control over. Yet still gives her the "cushion" if you will, to let her be a kid. I did explain to her that she would not always have this. She understands that this was just to get her on track.
I don't know if this will help your 1st grader, but maybe you could sit down with her, and together come up with a reward system that will "inspire" her! And don't forget those hugs! Those are always important!

My son is also in first grade and having similar problems. A friend of mine is a teacher for that grade level and she suggested switching teachers. She told me, "Not every teacher is suited to fit your child needs, and alot of the time older teachers just get set in their ways, they often do not go the extra mile for kids who are more active, and or are always trying to tell the child to do the opposite of what they like to do instead of trying to find a fun way for the child to do what they want them to do that adjusts to the childs needs. Sorry for the run on sentence! I thought this was good advice and I am seriously considering trying. My friend is 26 and has her masters in teaching. So I just think she has alot of recent training and is more up to date then some of the teachers who have been around forever. My son's teacher has been teaching for 24 yrs. And yes that's a great acheivement but it doesnt mean what worked on 6 and 7 yr olds then will work now. Well thats my suggestion, hope you find an answer!!!

wow, I just came from meeting with my daugther's teacher regarding her focus problem. I am going through the same situation with my 2nd grader. She does not focus in class, and even worst she was caught cheating on a math test. I am so frustrated with this situation because the only thing that she suggested was to get her a tutor.

My nephew also was in class w/ this teacher. We had meetings and the only suggestion she had was medication. to me thats the easy solution. As an aunt i asked for suggestions as far as helping him keep his focus. Much to my distress, the only solution offered was medication. I understand he may have distracted the other children from learning, and im so not defending him or his behavior. However, instead of making him feel slow, or humiliating him in front of the class, he should of had a sit down in private. All he received from that teacher was that he was a distraction and not wanted. Its truly sad.On that note.. his reading and spelling was above average. Of course he was never praised for that.

juleswt, I don't know if you're aware, but there are several different types of ADHD, and one of them, the "Inattentive" kind, does not involve hyperactivity or behaviors that usually bother or disrupt classmates. It is characterized by descriptions of "daydreaming" and lack of focus like you describe: www.help4adhd.org/faq.cfm?fid=23&tid=1&varLang=en

Very bright children with attentional and/or learning difficulties are also called "2e" or "twice exceptional" and I've listed many resources about them at community.greatschools.net/groups/16042

I'm sorry I can't offer any solutions, but just wanted to offer my support and assure you that you are not alone.

I also have a 1st grader with a lack of focus. He is constantly daydreaming, looking out into space, and has to be reminded to get back on task. He literally needs to be reminded every minute sometimes. He never finishes his work in class although he tries very hard. He is not hyper or disruptive.

Right now he sits on a balance cushion to focus his energy/mind (www.amazon.com/Isokinetics-Exercise-Disc-Balance-Cushion/dp/B000WQ4Z7Q/ref=pd_sbs_hpc_5) which seemed to help for a little while, but I think he got used to it because it doesn't work as well anymore.

I haven't met anyone with similar problems, but reading the book "Dreamers, Discoverers & Dynamos: How to Help the Child Who Is Bright, Bored and Having Problems in School" shed a little light on him, but didn't offer any solutions that worked.

We have discussed this issue with his teacher but we don't know what to do. Reward systems will not work because he desperately wants to focus and do his work, but he just is not able to no matter how much he tries. Reward systems would just make him discouraged because he is trying so hard and not seeing results. It's not a matter of motivation.

Holding him back wouldn't work because it doesn't have anything to do with ability (he can do everything at grade level when he focuses) or maturity (he is considered to be very mature and responsible in all other ways).

We are at our wits end. It could be neurological. We are still trying to figure it out.

Good luck. I hope things work out.

Well, my son is 5 years old is a very active child who is very brainy but then at the same time he finds it really hard to concentrate on one thing which really frustrates me sometimes specially when i sit down with him to teach leaving all my house work(as i myself have a very busy lifestyle),his teacher says he is doing well in school and whenever i show concerns and that he is improving day by day. But i can clearly understand how you feel because we all want our kids to do well. I think the main secret to success is keeping patience.I had to threaten my son that I am going to put all his toys and cars in the bin, if he doesnt' listen to mummy. And guess what he started crying, after a while i realised may be i shouldn't have said it but it worked as he started paying a tiny bit more attention.so may be do more activities with her at home and try to redirect her and in the end praise her and give her loads of hugs and kisses for being yr lovely little princess. may be that will help

Did the teacher say anything about your daughter not getting the work done? What's the outcome of her distraction? Does she distract others? Does she always need directions repeated? Her teacher saying she's 'distracted' really isn't telling us much.
That said, not every child is ready to buckle down to work and worksheets by age 6 or 7. Your daughter sounds like a very creative and imaginative thinker - likely she finds the rote nature of worksheets and the constant 'on task' expectations boring - some teachers are better than others for children who are creative and imaginative. You might keep your ear to the ground as to what people are saying about the second grade teachers and request the one you think would be best for your creative child.
Handed a worksheet, some children are happy, others sigh and resign themselves to it, some pretend to do it but are doodling on the edges, others start to distract their neighbor and some just can't stay focused on the worksheet - they look out the window at the sun shining and wish they were there. They think about things more pleasant than the worksheet in front of them.
I find that natural in young children - I'm an old teacher who thinks modern education forgets that children are children. Does your daughter read well? How is her writing? If she's doing fine with her skills, then she'll be prepared for 2nd grade. I'd go in and observe in the classroom - sit in the back and the normal routine of the class will start up again. You can see for yourself when your daughter gets distracted and how much of a problem it is for her.
And what does the teacher says she herself is doing about it in the classroom? Over 20 years of teaching, she should have come up with some strategies for distracted children. Informing you as the parent is always the right thing to do but teachers should be able to suggest some possible solutions to the problem they're pointing out.

Since your child is a 1st grader and easily distracted, you might want to get details from the Teacher. Have them pin point when your child becomes distracted (e i.. school subjects). My son is 5 and he's easily distracted but redirection works best when there con-structional control in the classroom and in the home.

Sit in the classroom randomly each month and observe them your self. I had to do that for my 1st child who was then diagnosed with ADHD. I had him tested by a child care organization who deal with childrens development. They did series of test called, "Child Watch" and I watched thru a 2-way mirror.

Today he's still on meds for his ADHD since 3rd grade and an Honor Roll student every year. Best of luck

I generally disagree with holding a child back unless there is strong grounds to do so. It was recommended that my daughter go into an intermediary program between kindergarten and first grade and after doing a lot of research, we decided not to. I could not find a single research study that showed a long term benefit to retention and many that showed a negative long term effect. Allowing my daughter to go forward was one of the best decisions we made. My daughter is like yours-she is one of the youngest in her class and is easily distracted. The slight age difference quickly fades. What was a big deal in kindergarten isn't even noticeable now. In my daughter's case we discovered she had an auditory processing disorder that makes it more difficult for her to pay attention in class. I think she also is just a dreamy kid. She has gotten somewhat better with age in the attention area, though it is still an issue. She is much better at completing tasks and other areas with which she struggled early in life. I agree that putting your daughter towards the front of the room may slightly help. In one of my daughter's former classes an aide sometimes sat by my daughter and periodically tapped her on the shoulder when she lost focus. That sometimes helped. Other measures would depend on whether or not she is struggling academically.

Both my sons have very high IQs, and even then we held them back. Holding kids back (when needed) gives them a chance to catch up on other issues like focusing, social skills, etc which makes them more balanced...

In addition to healthy11's suggestions, you may want to ask the teacher to place your daughter at the front of the class to lessen distractions. You can also ask the teacher if your daughter can help in the classroom by handing out papers or materials, erase the board, things like that. This will give her a chance to get up and stretch for a couple of minutes and release a bit of energy before moving on to the next task.

Talk to the teachers about possibly holding her back one year. It makes a huge difference overtime. She may not be prepared to have to concentrate in class at her age.

Both my sons were held back one year. The reason being that they were not matured enough and they would struggle overtime. I recommend you consider maybe doing the same. It has been great for us and has given both my sons a chance to develop social skills and now they both enjoy school and get good grades.

HI. It's difficult to know, from a few paragraphs, what the problem is, but I can't help but wonder if she's a bright girl who may have some attentional issues. While it's not always fair to stereotype, most girls do enjoy coloring and generally excel in school in the early grades, being "people pleasers." Young boys, on the other hand, are usually the ones who have trouble staying seated and focusing on deskwork, board games, and other "quiet" activities.
My son ended up being one of the youngest in his class, but he's got a very high IQ, and he also has ADHD. His teachers in K and 1st grade expressed the same kinds of concerns that your daughter's teacher are...he's capable of doing the work, but doesn't do it consistently, without regular redirection.

In the short term, you might try some kind of daily "sticker reward chart" whereby the teacher "awards" a "smiling" face if your daughter is mostly paying attention each morning, a "neutral" face if she's behaving "so-so" and a "sad" face if she's needed lots of redirection. Have a similar system for the afternoons. (It's useful to see if there's a pattern of behavior when she's perhaps hungry or tired towards the end of the day, etc.) At the end of the week, you might give your daughter token prizes, like a trinket from the store, or allow her to stay up 1/2 hour later, or have an extra serving of dessert, or see a favorite video, etc.